ASAKUSA AND YUYENO.--FIRST NATIONAL FAIR AT TOKIO.
All around the shrine of the temple there were prayers fastened,
wherever there was a place for fastening them. On the left of the altar
there was a large lattice, and this lattice had hundreds of prayers
attached to it, some of them folded and others open. Several old men and
women were leaning against this lattice, or squatted on the floor in
front of it, engaged in selling prayers; and they appeared to be doing a
thriving business. The boys bought some of these prayers to send home as
curiosities; and they also bought some charms and beads, the latter not
unlike those used by Catholics, and having a prominent place in the
Japanese worship. Then there were votive tablets on the walls, generally
in the form of pictures painted on paper or silk, or cut out of thin
paper, like silhouettes. One of them represents a ship on the water in
the midst of a storm, and is probably the offering of a merchant who had
a marine venture that he wished to have the goddess take under her
protection. Shoes and top-knots of men and women were among the
offerings, and the most of them were labelled with the names of the
donors. These valueless articles are never disturbed, but remain in
their places for years, while costly treasures of silver or gold are
generally removed in a few days to the private sanctuary of the goddess
for fear of accidents. Even in a temple, all the visitors cannot be
trusted to keep their hands in check. It is intimated that the priests
are sometimes guilty of appropriating valuable things to their own use.
But then what could you expect of a lot of heathens like the Japanese?
Nothing of the kind could happen in a Christian land.
There were more attractions outside the temple than in it for our young
visitors, and, after a hasty glance at the shrines in the neighborhood
of the great altar, they went again into the open air.
Not far from the entrance of the temple Frank came upon a stone wheel
set in a post of the same material. He looked it over with the greatest
care, and wondered what kind of labor-saving machine it was. A quantity
of letters and figures on the sides of the post increased his thirst
for knowledge, and he longed to be able to read Japanese, so that he
might know the name of the inventor of this piece of mechanism, and what
it was made for.
He turned to the Doctor and asked what was the use of the post, and how
it was operated.
Just as he spoke, a man passed near the machine and gave the wheel a
blow that sent it spinning around with great rapidity. The man gave a
glance at it to see that it was turning well, and then moved on in the
direction of the temple.
"I know what that is," said Fred, who came along at the moment Frank
expressed his wonder to Doctor Bronson.
"Well, what is it?"
"It's a praying-machine; I read about it the other day in a book on
Japan."
"Quite right," responded the Doctor; "it is a machine used in every
country where Buddhism is the religion."
[Illustration: PRAYING-MACHINE.]
Then he went on to explain that there is a formula of prayers on the
sides of the post, and sometimes on the wheel, and that for each
revolution of the wheel these prayers are supposed to be uttered. A
devotee passes, and, as he does so, he revolves the wheel; and for each
time it turns around a prayer is recorded in heaven to his credit. It
follows that a man with strong arms, and possessing a knack of making
the wheel spin around, can do a great deal more petitioning to Heaven
than the weak and clumsy one.
Fred thought that it would be a good thing to attach these prayer-wheels
to mills propelled by water, wind, or steam, and thus secure a steady
and continuous revolution. The Doctor told him that this was actually
done in some of the Buddhist countries, and a good many of the pious
people said their prayers by machinery.
[Illustration: ARCHERY ATTENDANT.]
They strolled along to where there were some black-eyed girls in charge
of booths, where, for a small consideration, a visitor can practise
shooting with bows and arrows. The bows were very small, and the arrows
were blunt at the ends. The target was a drum, and consequently the
marksman's ear, rather than the eye, told when a shot was successful.
The drums were generally square, and in front of each there was a little
block of wood. A click on the wood showed that a shot was of more value
than when it was followed by the dull boom of the drum. The girls
brought tea to the boys, and endeavored to engage them in conversation,
but, as there was no common language in which they could talk, the
dialogue was not particularly interesting. The boys patronized the
archery business, and tried a few shots with the Japanese equipments;
but they found the little arrows rather difficult to handle, on account
of their diminutive size. An arrow six inches long is hardly heavy
enough to allow of a steady aim, and both of the youths declared they
would prefer something more weighty.
Near the archery grounds there was a collection of so-called wax-works,
and the Doctor paid the entrance-fees for the party to the show. These
wax-works consist of thirty-six tableaux with life-size figures, and are
intended to represent miracles wrought by Ku-wanon, the goddess of the
temple. They are the production of one artist, who had visited the
temples devoted to Ku-wanon in various parts of Japan, and determined to
represent her miracles in such a way as to instruct those who were
unable to make the pilgrimage, as he had done. One of the tableaux shows
the goddess restoring to health a young lady who has prayed to her;
another shows a woman saved from shipwreck, in consequence of having
prayed to the goddess; in another a woman is falling from a ladder, but
the goddess saves her from injury; in another a pious man is saved from
robbers by his dog; and in another a true believer is overcoming and
killing a serpent that sought to do him harm. Several of the groups
represent demons and fairies, and the Japanese skill in depicting the
hideous is well illustrated. One of them shows a robber desecrating the
temple of the goddess; and the result of his action is hinted at by a
group of demons who are about to carry him away in a cart of iron, which
has been heated red-hot, and has wheels and axles of flaming fire. He
does not appear overjoyed with the free ride that is in prospect for
him. These figures are considered the most remarkable in all Japan, and
many foreign visitors have pronounced them superior to the celebrated
collection of Madame Tussaud in London. Ku-wanon is represented as a
beautiful lady, and in some of the figures there is a wonderfully gentle
expression to her features.
Asakusa is famous for its flower-shows, which occur at frequent
intervals, and, luckily for our visitors, one was in progress at the
time of their pilgrimage to the temple. The Japanese are great lovers of
flowers, and frequently a man will deprive himself of things of which he
stands in actual need in order to purchase his favorite blossoms. As in
all other countries, the women are more passionately fond of floral
productions than the men; and when a flower-show is in progress, there
is sure to be a large attendance of the fairer sex. Many of these
exhibitions are held at night, as a great portion of the public are
unable to come in the daytime on account of their occupations. At night
the place is lighted up by means of torches stuck in the ground among
the flowers, and the scene is quite picturesque.
[Illustration: A JAPANESE FLOWER-SHOW. NIGHT SCENE.]
Frank and Fred were greatly interested to find the love which the
Japanese have for dwarfed plants and for plants in fantastic shapes. The
native florists are wonderfully skilful in this kind of work, and some
of their accomplishments would seem impossible to American gardeners.
For example, they will make representations of mountains, houses, men,
women, cats, dogs, boats, carts, ships under full sail, and a hundred
other things--all in plants growing in pots or in the ground. To do
this they take a frame of wire or bamboo in the shape of the article
they wish to represent, and then compel the plant to grow around it. Day
by day the plant is trained, bent a little here and a little there, and
in course of time it assumes the desired form and is ready for the
market. If an animal is represented, it is made more life-like by the
addition of a pair of porcelain eyes; but there is rarely any other part
of his figure that is formed of anything else than the living green. Our
boys had a merry time among the treasures of the gardener in picking out
the animate and inanimate forms that were represented, and both
regretted that they could not send home some of the curious things that
they found. Frank discovered a model of a house that he knew would
please his sister; and he was quite sure that Miss Effie would dance
with delight if she could feast her eyes on a figure of a dog, with the
short nose for which the dogs of Japan are famous, and with sharp little
eyes of porcelain.
Fred cared less for the models in green than he did for some dwarf trees
that seemed to strike his fancy particularly. There were pines, oaks,
and other trees familiar to our eyes, only an inch or two in height, but
as perfectly formed as though they were of the natural size in which we
see them in their native forests. Then there were bamboo, cactus, and a
great many other plants that grow in Japan, but with which we are not
familiar. There was such a quantity of them as to leave no doubt that
the dwarfing of plants is thoroughly understood in Japan and has
received much attention. Doctor Bronson told the boys that the
profession of florist, like many other professions and trades, was
hereditary, and that the knowledge descended from father to son. The
dwarfing of plants, and their training into unnatural shapes and forms,
have been practised for thousands of years, and the present state of the
florist's art is the result of centuries of development.
[Illustration: A CHRISTENING IN JAPAN.]
In the flower-show and among the tea-booths the party remained at their
leisure until it was time to think of going away from Asakusa and seeing
something else. As they came out of the temple grounds they met a
wedding party going in, and a few paces farther on they encountered a
christening party proceeding in the same direction. The wedding
procession consisted of three persons, and the other of four; but the
principal member of the latter group was so young that he was carried in
the arms of one of his companions, and had very little to say of the
performances in which he was to take a prominent part. Frank observed
that he did not cry, as any well-regulated baby would have done in
America, and remarked upon the oddity of the circumstance. The Doctor
informed him that it was not the fashion for babies to cry in Japan,
unless they belonged to foreign parents.
Frank opened his eyes with astonishment. Fred did likewise.
"And is it really the case," said Frank, "that a Japanese baby never
cries?"
"I could hardly say that," the Doctor answered; "but you may live a long
time in Japan, and see lots of babies without hearing a cry from one of
them. An American or English baby will make more noise and trouble than
fifty Japanese ones. You have seen a great many small children since you
landed in Japan, and now stop and think if you have heard one of them
cry."
The boys considered a moment, and were forced to admit that, as Frank
expressed it, they hadn't heard a whimper from a native infant. And they
added that they were not anxious to hear any either.
The child that they saw was probably an urchin of about four weeks, as
it is the custom to shave the head of an infant on the thirtieth day, or
very near that date, and take him to the temple. There the priest
performs a ceremonial very much like a christening with us, and for the
same object. The party in the present instance consisted of a nurse
carrying the child, a servant holding an umbrella to shield the nurse
and child from the sun, and lastly the father of the youngster. The
mother does not accompany the infant on this journey, or, at all events,
it is not necessary that she should do so.
[Illustration: A WEDDING PARTY.]
The wedding procession that our boys encountered consisted of the bride
and her mother, with a servant to hold an umbrella to protect them from
the sun. Mother and daughter were richly attired, and their heads were
covered with shawls heavily embroidered. Weddings in Japan do not take
place in the temples, as might naturally be expected, but a part of the
ceremonial is performed at the house of the bride, and the remainder at
that of the bridegroom. After the wedding the bride accompanies her
mother to the temple to say her prayers for a happy life, and this was
the occasion which our young adventurers happened to witness.
There are many other temples in Tokio besides Asakusa, and the stranger
who wishes to devote his time to the study of Japanese temples can have
his wishes gratified to the fullest degree. After our party had finished
the sights of Asakusa, they went to another quarter where they spent an
hour among temples that were less popular, though more elegant, than
those of the locality we have just described. The beauty of the
architecture and the general elegance of the interior of the structures
captivated them, and they unhesitatingly pronounced the religious
edifices of Japan the finest they had ever seen.
They were hungry, and the Doctor suggested Uyeno. The boys did not know
what Uyeno was, but concluded they would like some. Fred asked if it was
really good.
The Doctor told them that Uyeno was excellent, and Frank asked how it
was prepared. He was somewhat taken aback when he learned that Uyeno was
not an article of food, but a place where food was to be obtained.
[Illustration: STROLLING SINGERS AT ASAKUSA.]
They went there and found a pretty park on a hill that overlooked a
considerable portion of the city. At one side of the park there was an
enclosure containing several tombs of the shogoons, or tycoons, of
Japan, and there was a neat little temple that is held in great
reverence, and receives annually many thousands of visitors. On an edge
of the hill, where a wide view was to be had over the houses of the
great capital, an enterprising Japanese had erected a restaurant, which
he managed after the European manner, and was driving a profitable
business. He was patronized by the foreign visitors and residents, and
also by many of the Japanese officials, who had learned to like foreign
cookery and customs during their journeys abroad, or were endeavoring to
familiarize themselves with its peculiarities. Our friends found the
restaurant quite satisfactory, and complimented the proprietor on the
success of his management. It is no easy matter for a native to
introduce foreign customs into his hotel in such a way as to give
satisfaction to the people of the country from which the customs are
taken.
[Illustration: VIEW FROM SURUGA DAI IN TOKIO.]
Uyeno is not by any means the only elevation in Tokio from which a good
view can be had of the city and surrounding country. There are several
elevations where such views are obtainable, and in nearly all of them
the holy mountain, Fusiyama, has a prominent place. A famous view is
that of Atago Yama, and another is from Suruga Dai. Both these places
are popular resorts, and abound in tea-houses, refreshment booths,
swings, and other public attractions. On pleasant afternoons there is
always a large attendance of the populace, and it is interesting to see
them amusing themselves. There are old people, middle-aged people,
youths, and infants, the latter on the backs of their nurses, where
they hang patiently on, and seem to enjoy their share of the fun. The
quantity of tea that the natives consume in one of these afternoon
entertainments is something prodigious; but they do not seem to suffer
any injury from what some of us would consider a wild dissipation.
[Illustration: A CHILD'S NURSE.]
Not far from where the Doctor and his young friends were seated was an
enclosure where was held the First National Fair of Tokio in 1877. The
enclosure was still standing, and it was the intention of the government
to hold a fair there annually, as it fully recognized the advantages of
these exhibitions as educators of the people. The Japanese are not
generally well informed as to the products of their own country outside
of the provinces where they happen to live. A native can tell you what
his own district or province produces, but he is often lamentably
ignorant of the resources of other parts of the country. It is to break
up this ignorance, and also to stimulate improvements in the various
industries, that these national fairs have been established.
As the description of the First National Fair at Tokio may not be
uninteresting, we will copy from a letter to a New York paper, by one of
its correspondents who was in Japan at the time. After describing the
opening ceremonies, which were attended by the emperor and empress,
together with many high dignitaries of the government, he wrote as
follows:
"The buildings are arranged to enclose an octagonal space, and
consequently a visitor finds himself at the starting-point when he has
made the rounds. The affair is in the hands of the gentlemen who
controlled the Japanese department of the Philadelphia Exhibition in
1876, and many of the features of our Centennial have been reproduced.
They have Agricultural Hall, Machinery Hall, Horticultural Hall, and
Fine Arts Gallery, as at the Centennial; and then they have Eastern Hall
and Western Hall, which the Quaker City did not have. They have
restaurants and refreshment booths, and likewise stands for the sale of
small articles, such as are most likely to tempt strangers. In many
respects the exhibition is quite similar to an affair of the same kind
in America; and with a few changes of costume, language, and articles
displayed, it might pass for a state or county fair in Maine or
Minnesota.
[Illustration: LOVERS BEHIND A SCREEN. A PAINTING ON SILK EXHIBITED AT
THE TOKIO FAIR.]
"The display of manufactured articles is much like that in the Japanese
section at Philadelphia, but is not nearly so large, the reason being
that the merchants do not see as good chances for business as they did
at the Centennial, and consequently they have not taken so much trouble
to come in. Many of the articles shown were actually at Philadelphia,
but did not find a market, and have been brought out again in the hope
that they may have better luck. The bronzes are magnificent, and some of
them surpass anything that was shown at the Centennial, or has ever been
publicly exhibited outside of Japan. The Japanese seem determined to
maintain their reputation of being the foremost workers of bronze in the
world. They have also some beautiful work in lacquered ware, but their
old lacquer is better than the new.
"In their Machinery Hall they have a very creditable exhibit,
considering how recently they have opened the country to the Western
world, and how little they had before the opening in the way of Western
ideas. There is a small steam-engine of Japanese make; there are two or
three looms, some rice-mills, winnowing-machines, an apparatus for
winding and spinning silk, some pumps, a hay-cutter, and a fire-engine
worked by hand. Then there are several agricultural machines, platform
scales, pumps, and a wood-working apparatus from American makers, and
there are two or three of English production. In the Agricultural Hall
there are horse-rakes, mowers, reapers, and ploughs from America, and
there are also some well-made ploughs from Japanese hands. In the
Eastern Hall there are some delicate balances for weighing coin and the
precious metals; they were made for the mint at Osaka, and look
wonderfully like the best French or German balances. The Japanese have
been quite successful in copying these instruments, more so than in
imitating the heavier scales from America. Fairbanks's scales have been
adopted as the standard of the Japanese postal and customs departments.
Some of the skilful workmen in Japan thought they could make their own
scales, and so they set about copying the American one. They made a
scale that looked just as well, but was not accurate as a
weighing-machine. As the chief use of a scale is to weigh correctly,
they concluded to quit their experiments and stick to Fairbanks's.
[Illustration: BLACKSMITH'S BELLOWS.]
"There is an interesting display of the natural products of Japan, and
it is exceedingly instructive to a stranger. The Japanese are studying
these things with great attention, and the fair will undoubtedly prove
an excellent school for the people by adding to their stock of
information about themselves. Each section bears over its entrance the
name of the city, province, or district it represents, and as these
names are displayed in English as well as in Japanese, a stranger has no
difficulty in finding out the products of the different parts of the
empire. The result is that many articles are repeated in the exhibition,
and you meet with them again and again. Such, for example, are raw
silks, which come from various localities, as likewise do articles of
leather, wood, and iron. Porcelain of various kinds appears repeatedly,
and so do the woods used for making furniture. There is an excellent
show of porcelain, and some of the pieces are of enormous size. Kaga,
Satsuma, Hizen, Kioto, Nagasaki, and other wares are in abundance, and a
student of ceramics will find enough to interest him for many hours.
[Illustration: A GRASS OVERCOAT.]
"In cordage and material for ship-building there is a good exhibit, and
there are two well-made models of gun-boats. Wheat, rice, millet, and
other grains are represented by numerous samples, and there are several
specimens of Indian-corn, or maize, grown on Japanese soil. There is a
goodly array of canned fruits and meats, mostly the former, some in tin
and the rest in glass. Vinegars, rice-whiskey, soy, and the like are
abundant, and so is dried fish of several kinds. There is a good display
of tea and tobacco, the former being in every form, from the tea-plant
up to the prepared article ready for shipment. One has only to come here
to see the many uses to which the Japanese put fibrous grasses in making
mats, overcoats, and similar things; and there are like displays of the
serviceability of bamboo. From the north of Japan there are otter and
other skins, and from various points there are models of boats and nets
to illustrate the fishing business. The engineering department shows
some fine models of bridges and dams, and has evidently made good
progress since its organization."